Frederick County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Maryland by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 23 deaths in 22 fatal crashes in Frederick County in 2024.

FARS records 236 deaths in 229 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 8.8 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Maryland in the same years is 9.1.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Frederick County was number 7 of 24 counties of Maryland.

Deaths in Frederick County rose by 3.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (228) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (236).

In the counties of Maryland the deaths rose by 2.4% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 39.9% of the fatal crashes in Frederick County with a known setting were rural, against 18.6% in Maryland.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Frederick County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Frederick County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	23	22	1 or 2
2023	33	30	6
2022	30	30	5
2021	23	23	11
2020	23	23	8
2019	24	24	7
2018	17	17	3
2017	27	24	6
2016	16	16	5
2015	20	20	5
2015 to 2024	236	229	58

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Frederick County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 40 (1981)2024: 23

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Frederick County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	23	22
2023	33	30
2022	30	30
2021	23	23
2020	23	23
2019	24	24
2018	17	17
2017	27	24
2016	16	16
2015	20	20
2014	18	17
2013	20	20
2012	16	14
2011	15	14
2010	24	21
2009	23	22
2008	21	19
2007	25	20
2006	33	30
2005	33	28
2004	28	27
2003	18	17
2002	18	15
2001	37	33
2000	27	25
1999	32	29
1998	27	25
1997	31	25
1996	21	21
1995	28	24
1994	29	27
1993	34	30
1992	34	31
1991	30	27
1990	33	32
1989	25	23
1988	32	30
1987	28	27
1986	37	33
1985	30	22
1984	23	20
1983	16	15
1982	28	23
1981	40	35
1980	34	28
1979	21	19
1978	35	32
1977	27	24
1976	20	18
1975	33	28

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Frederick County beside Maryland and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Frederick County	Maryland	United States
2024	7.7	9.3	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	8.8	9.1	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Frederick County had 298,855 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Frederick County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Maryland
A driver recorded as drinkingof 229 fatal crashes	58	229 fatal crashes	25.3%	27.9%
A speeding-related driverof 229 fatal crashes	63	229 fatal crashes	27.5%	26.2%
No restraint usedof 142 occupant deaths with restraint use known	59	142 occupant deathswith restraint use known	41.5%	43.4%
Pedestriansof 236 deaths	26	236 deaths	11.0%	23.1%
Bicyclistsof 236 deaths	5	236 deaths	2.1%	2.0%
Motorcyclistsof 236 deaths	42	236 deaths	17.8%	14.5%
On a rural roadof 228 fatal crashes with the condition reported	91	228 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	39.9%	18.6%
In the darkof 228 fatal crashes with the condition reported	94	228 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.2%	54.2%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Frederick County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	8	10	12	8	38
Monday	1 or 2	3	9	11	24
Tuesday	5	11	11	7	34
Wednesday	6	6	8	8	28
Thursday	6	9	13	5	33
Friday	8	4	9	13	34
Saturday	11	5	12	10	38
All days	45	48	74	62	229

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Frederick County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Maryland
Interstate	45	19.7%	12.9%
Other freeways and expressways	22	9.6%	6.8%
Other principal arterial	50	21.9%	34.3%
Minor arterial	31	13.6%	21.2%
Major collector	36	15.8%	13.2%
Minor collector	8	3.5%	2.4%
Local	36	15.8%	9.0%
Not reported	1 or 2	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Frederick County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	123
Dark, not lighted	60
Dark, lighted	32
Dawn	7
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	1 or 2

Table 8.Frederick County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	167
Cloudy	29
Rain	19
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	3
Fog, smog or smoke	4
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	1 or 2
Other or not reported	5

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Frederick County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Frederick	In all of Maryland
Interstate 70	Interstate	37	109
Interstate 270	Interstate	8	39
State Route 26	State highway	9	59
State Route 27	State highway	1 or 2	26
State Route 140	State highway	1 or 2	60
State Route 355	State highway	1 or 2	41
US Route 15	US highway	39	39
US Route 40	US highway	12	166

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Maryland

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Frederick County on the county map of Maryland

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 108 counties
10 to 14.910 counties
15 to 19.92 counties
20 to 29.94 counties
30 or more0 counties
Frederick County: 8.8

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Maryland

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Frederick County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Carroll County	Maryland	16	147	8.6
Howard County	Maryland	21	236	7.2
Montgomery County	Maryland	47	425	4.0
Washington County	Maryland	14	166	10.9
Adams County	Pennsylvania	13	125	12.0
Franklin County	Pennsylvania	21	207	13.3
Loudoun County	Virginia	14	133	3.2

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Maryland have a population nearest to that of Frederick County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Maryland Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Maryland.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Frederick County, Maryland: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/md/frederick/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Frederick in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 228 deaths in Frederick County from 2005 to 2014. It records 236 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Frederick in 2024?

The rate of Frederick County in 2024 was 7.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Maryland was 9.3. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Frederick had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 58 of 229 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Frederick?

8 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 111 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.